Bikini competition journal 1 day out - "Oh my gosh, look how tanned I am!"

Tomorrow is the day. I can't believe I'm not measuring time in days anymore. Tomorrow I'll be competing for the first time in the bikini devision.

Am I nervous? Not really. As I said in one of my previous journals, the stage is not that important to me. Am I happy? Oh yes. Tomorrow I can finally say 'I did it'. I'm more than proud and grateful for all the people who supported me.

This journey was amazing. I've learned lessons I wouldn't have learned without this prep. I grew beyond my limits. Competing made me look past the basics of nutrition and exercise. I started examining all the details, every feeling, everything my body and mind wanted to tell me.

When I'm looking in the mirror I see more than a good physique. I see a more grown up woman, a woman who is tougher than she thought she could be, who is surprised by her own strength. I've learned to handle weakness, struggle and to control hunger. I've learned to handle shit I don't want to do, to get work done despite the fact that I was lacking concentration.

But to be completely honest: I couldn't have done this all by myself. Support is important. People who may not understand why you're doing this, but believe in you and want to see you succeed.

I've shown you that there is always a healthy way - no, competition prep doesn't have to be unhealthy or harm your body.

What happens tomorrow doesn't really matter to me. I've already won.
I got to know people who really care and helped me, although I just moved to London a few months ago. My loved friends and family back in Germany where also always there for me. Tried to understand the journey I'm going through and tried to help wherever they can, even though they don't understand why I'm doing this.

Our community online is so strong and the love I received is overwhelming and touches my heart.

And then my husband. To me it's one of the best things that we test ourselves constantly. We don't just settle. We improve. As individuals and as a team.

It was a competition against myself - 16 weeks, every day. To show myself what I'm really capable of, to go above my limits and out of my comfort zone. And who can say he/she won a competition against their own mind?!

If you're going to compete, please don't focus too much on the placing. There is so much more! Go on the freakin' stage and celebrate your success the past few weeks. Celebrate the struggles, ups and downs, the support you got and the new things you've learned. That's what it's all about.

Never settle! It's one of the most powerful principles you can live by. Never fucking settle! There is so much to discover.

Every time you decide to work on yourself, instead of taking the shortcut, makes you stronger. Develop your mind by learning something new, rather than watching the news over and over again. Eat healthy, be kind, be grateful! Life happens, so keep going despite setbacks.

Set the standard and continue to raise the bar in your life.

My peak week

So, let's talk about my peak week. There are lots of people in the fitness, and especially in the bodybuilding industry, who say "Peak week is where the magic happens." Oh man, we get that. But no. The magic already happened the weeks before where you worked your ass off to be ready on that specific date.

Of course, there are many little "tricks" to look your absolute best on show day. But to be honest with you, you don't want to try super fancy new stuff in the last week and mess around. This could cause you to just ruin what you've worked so hard for during the past weeks.

Many people want to play with their water or sodium intake... but if you screwed up during your prep and you have too much fat left or lost too much muscle mass, the peak week won't save you anyway.

Peak week is about calming down, relaxing, recovering and focus.

Here are the final facts of the last week for you:

Diet consists of

1500 kcal
130g protein
about 35g-40g carbs (net carbs if you're in the US)
80g fat

Typical meal plan

To minimise the water retention of my body I decided to cut out dairy and most artificial sweeteners for this week, sadly. You know I love cheese. Hey, what are 7 days, right?

Now here's my competition prep meal plan on a ketogenic vegetarian diet:

Meal #1 (Pre workout): 20 kcal; 0.3gC/0gF/4.7gP

5g BCAAs; 20 kcal

Meal #2 (Post workout): 104 kcal; 2.2gC/1.9gF/19.1gP

25g whey protein powder; 104 kcal

Meal #3 (12pm): 348 kcal; 17gC/23gF/27gP

2 portobello mushroom caps (around 150g); 21 kcal
4 egg whites; 68 kcal
1 whole egg; 66 kcal
120g avocado; 80 kcal
10g reduced sugar/salt ketchup; 6kcal

Meal #4 (3pm): 306 kcal; 11gC/14gF/32gP

25g whey protein powder; 104 kcal
2 whole eggs; 166 kcal
5g raw cocoa; 20 kcal
50g frozen blueberries; 20 kcal

Meal #5 (6pm): 489 kcal; 3gC/31gF/48gP

50g fresh leaf spinach; 15 kcal
4 whole eggs; 248 kcal
100g salmon filet; 174 kcal
150g mushrooms; 24 kcal
50g beansprouts; 24 kcal
25g spring onions; 6 kcal

Meal #6 (9pm): 114 kcal; 3gC/6gF/8gP

20g whole chia seeds; 84 kcal
75ml unsweetened Alpro almond milk; 10 kcal
5g whey protein powder, 20 kcal

Training split / Time table for the week

Training split has slightly changed, because - well - it's peak week and I don't want to cause too much harm or increase inflammation in my body. Therefore, I'm doing a de-load week. Which means, lighter weights at roughly 60% 1RM. At this stage it's very likely to cause an injury, so I don't want to overdo it.

Monday: 45 min Active recovery/LISS cardio
Tuesday: 60 min cardio
Wednesday: Legs (high rep)
Thursday: Arms/Shoulders (high rep); Abs + 30min cardio
Friday: 30min cardio
Saturday: Rest day, show day
Sunday: Rest day, cheat day

Supplementation

Supplementation stays the same as last week, but I no longer take Creatine, because my body might hold more water with it.

5g BCAAs in the morning before training
Vitamin C (twice a day)
Vitamin D3 (5000 IUs per day)
Whey protein powder as needed
Magnesium (1g per day)
Fish oil capsules (2g per day)

Pics

And here are finally some pics from my lovely stage bikini by Muscle Dazzle

Follow my whole day, to the minute I step on the stage and when I finally did it:

Tomorrow, Saturday the 29th of April 2017 through our Instagram-Stories. I will keep you updated!

Support me by using the Hashtag #SupportSarah2017 on Instagram and Twitter. Thanks!

See you next time.

Until then, train hard and eat right!

Cheers, Sarah